Jared Cauthen, a student nurse at Kaweah Delta Medical Center, was driving south on Lovers Lane on his way home from the hospital when he caught a glimpse of what he thought could be a fire.

“I just happened to glance to my right and saw an orange sky,” he said. “So I flipped a u-[turn].”

Along the way, he picked up a concerned couple running toward the fire. They found the home moments later.

“We banged on the door for the longest time,” Cauthen said, recalling how concerned he was that perhaps the residents were bed bound. “He [one of the residents] finally came out and I don’t think he knew there was a fire.”

About the same time, brothers Erik and Trey Avila, who were visiting relatives in the neighborhood, took two garden hoses to the fire in an attempt to save surrounding property.

As a contract bulldozer operator for Cal Fire, Erik, of Woodlake, has some experience with wildfires.

“I’m used to watching grass burn, not homes,” he said. “That’s somebody’s belongings, their life that’s burning up.”

Fire investigators, who stayed on the scene until about 2 a.m., determined the fire began when discarded cigarettes reignited in a trash can in the side yard. The fire then spread to the garage and the neighboring fence. The rest of the house appeared to have been spared from any extensive damage.